July 30, 2020
The bud of a medicinal plants is the prized appendage that appears after a plant enters the flowering stage of its life cycle. The leaves of the medicinal plants contain THC, but the buds of female plants are the most potent product by far.
With medical and recreational medicinal plants markets booming, growers who focus their energy on cultivating denser, more potent buds may make their business more profitable. Paying special attention to nutritional regimen, temperature and humidity needs, lighting design, and ventilation will set cultivators on the path to growing superior bud.
Here are some tips for you to improve medicinal plants Bud Quality.
Start with Top-Shelf Genetics
High-quality medicinal plants seeds are the most important aspect of achieving high-quality buds. In short: if you want top-shelf medicinal plants, you need to start with top-shelf seeds.
The genetics of the medicinal plants you’re growing matters. If you start out with seeds that are mid-grade or clones, you may not be able to get the best quality buds. No matter what you do, you simply cannot change genetics.
So, do your research about the different types of seeds available and the various online medicinal plants seed banks where you can source high-quality seeds. There’s really no point trying to grow anything sub-par.
Give your medicinal plants Lots of Light
When growing in a warehouse or a commercial greenhouse, high-intensity discharge (HID) lights, compact fluorescent lights (CFL), and light-emitting diode (LED) lights reign supreme. Before buying any of them, however, consider how much heat and light is needed and how much energy will be used.
HID lights encompass two types of bulbs: high pressure sodium (HPS) and metal halide. Metal halide bulbs emit a cooler, more bluish color, which is beneficial during the vegetative stage of growth. The orange and red spectrum emitted by HPS bulbs stimulates budding and flowering. HID lamps of 400 or 1,000 watts are best for indoor cultivation. Due to their high heat output, HPS fixtures require a hood or other cooling or ventilation device to displace extra warmth. Professional growers often use a combination of HPS and metal halide bulbs to cover the whole light spectrum for the duration of the plant’s life cycle.
CFL bulbs are affordable and cover the full visible light spectrum, making them a healthy source of light for clones and young plants. CFL bulbs also have a low heat output, and they don’t use much electricity. Due to their small size, CFL bulbs are best suited for small spaces.
LEDs grow lights are receiving lots of attention because they produce more light at lower wattage and use less energy than traditional bulbs. They also produce less heat, meaning they can be mounted closer to plants. Make sure indoor grow lights contain green and white light (some older bulbs don’t). A shortage in those portions of the spectrum can lead to inefficient nutrient uptake.
Give Your Plant the Nutrients It Needs
Giving your plants natural nutrients in the form of good soil and a small dosages of fertilizing (10-15% of recommended strength for mineral based fertilizers and indoor never above EC 0.7 mS/cm) after 4-5 weeks of growth to top up used nutrients is usually sufficient for great development and high yields.
Medical medicinal plants requires both Macronutrients (i.e. Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium) and Micronutrients (i.e. Calcium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum & Zinc) for successful growth.
Most commercially available soils have fertilizers (& nutrients) already added to them and will not normally require additional fertilizers and nutrients during the first month or two of growth. medicinal plants normally requires the use of more Nitrogen (N) during the vegetative growing cycle. During the flowering cycle medicinal plants will normally require an increase in Phosphorus.
Manipulate Temperature and Humidity
In all stages of medicinal plants growth your plants will have a constant need to intake water, and the amount of water they need fluctuates with the humidity in your grow room. When the humidity is high, medicinal plants use their leaves to absorb moisture from the air which causes them to drink less water from their roots.
If your indoor grow tent/room feels warm or cold, humid or dry, that is a sign that you may want to look into changing the temperature and/or humidity of your grow area.
Humidity is a factor that partly determines how much your plants will drink. If the air is dry, your plants will tend to drink more at their roots. If they’re already drinking more due to high temperatures, low humidity can cause them to drink a lot of water through their roots and uptake too-high levels of nutrients.
Make Sure Grow Room has Strong Air Flow & Good Ventilation
In addition to the right temperature and humidity conditions, proper ventilation is vital for growing top-shelf quality buds.
For small or mid-sized plants, a couple of oscillating fans would do the job. But if you have larger plants, you’ll need better ventilation to get rid of the excess heat and humidity in the air.
Harvest at the Right Time
We often make the mistake of harvesting the buds as soon as they start to smell good or when we think the buds look ready. That, of course, won’t give you the desired quality.
On the other hand, you shouldn’t wait too long to harvest your buds either otherwise, they’ll start to lose their potency.
The optimum time to harvest the buds for the highest potency depends on the type of strain you’re using. There are various signs to look out for, but most accounts recommend harvesting your medicinal plants when about 60 to 70% of the hairs have darkened.
Bear in mind that some strains will still have white buds even when it’s ready to harvest, so it really just differs from strain to strain.
Learn everything you can, start with good genetics and create the perfect growing environment to produce your best buds!